You desperately wanted to return to Hogwarts, so you and Draco hatch a plan to get you back there.
~~~
A week had gone by, and you had finally regained your voice. There were points where it cracked out, but for the most part you were finally able to speak again. You couldn't really expect much more, though, for after all, you'd almost been killed.
You hadn't recognized the house you had Apparated to, but you supposed it was for the best. If you didn't even know where you were, how was Voldemort supposed to know?
Draco kept up with the news as best as he could by using a radio he'd brought with him. He'd been nearly unable to sleep most nights, curling up next to you every night despite the fact that he laid awake the whole night through more often than he actually fell asleep. You were beginning to worry about the poor boy, and you didn't know what would happen when the school year started back up. You couldn't really go back, but you supposed Draco had to. But when you brought up the situation to Draco in a question about it all, he was adamant that you needed to return to Hogwarts as well.
"You have to go back," Draco retaliated. "You can't just give up on your studies."
"Draco, I'm supposed to be dead," you responded. "How am I supposed to stay undercover if I just waltz back into Hogwarts? Voldemort would find me probably the first day of classes."
Draco paced back and forth, clearly in deep thought. "What if we altered your appearance somehow?" he asked. "We would basically have to enroll you as a transfer student of some sort. Maybe from Beaubaxtons? Or Ilvermorny?"
You wrinkled your nose at the thought of the American wizarding school. You hadn't heard much about it, but Draco thought it was worse than Hogwarts, and even your parents hadn't heard a lot of good things about it. You weren't sure you wanted people thinking you'd come from there.
Draco noted your sour expression, chuckling a little bit. "Okay, okay. Not Ilvermorny. But you won't be able to pass as a Beaubaxtons student, I'm afraid. Not because you're not pretty enough, but they've got this super strict regimen and you have to walk with your head super high and you have to have perfect posture—it's just not something someone can fake without practicing for a really long time beforehand."
You nodded. You knew that all too well. Pansy Parkinson had seemed a whole new person the first time you saw her after she'd transferred to the Academy of Magic.
"What about Erehnoll?" you asked then. "The wizarding school from Ireland? Cho Chang came from there."
Draco looked up at you. "It's better than Ilvermorny, I guess."
You smiled at his resignation, but also at the fact that you would get to return to Hogwarts after all. Even if everyone would have to meet an entirely different person, and you would probably have to try to make friends with other people, it would be worth it.
Draco nodded. "Send a letter to my mum about it then, and I'll get to studying the spells to change your appearance."
"What about just Polyjuice potion?" you asked. Draco shook his head. "It would be a lot harder to sneak into Erehnoll to get hair or anything from a student there. Plus, we'd have to keep brewing Polyjuice, because you'd have to keep drinking it in order to maintain your appearance. If we just use reversible spells, it's going to be easier on everyone involved, plus we don't have to keep casting the spells to keep you looking like that other person."
You nodded. That made sense.
You hurried into the bedroom you shared with Draco to pen the letter to his mother, your quill moving quickly on its own as you did so. You had nearly forgotten to sign your alias a number of times, so you were grateful that Draco always proofread your letters before giving them to the owl.
Your alias, Amethyst Dovetail, had felt almost too fake when Narcissa suggested it. Like it was obviously a fake name just waiting for someone to call it out. But Narcissa had insisted that it was the name of one of her old friends from a visit to Beaubaxtons, one that she regularly visited, which meant that receiving correspondence from her via letter would not be suspicious, since Voldemort had put the mistress of Malfoy Manor essentially under house arrest. However, Narcissa had assured you he had stopped reading the letters after he realized they were all boring and full of things he didn't see through, so you had been a bit riskier in the topics of the last few letters.
But you still wrote under the name Amethyst Dovetail. You referred to Draco as Oliver, because you knew it would be awfully odd for an old friend of Narcissa's to be hanging out with the dark-haired woman's only son. You secretly liked the name Amethyst, you thought it was beautiful. On sunnier days when you allowed yourself to daydream, you thought of naming a future daughter Amethyst. A child that perhaps Draco could father.
You knew that was a ridiculous notion, however. It was foolish to be considering children and marriage and a picture-perfect family when your boyfriend was busy hiding you from the most powerful dark wizard the wizarding world had ever seen. So when you snapped yourself out of your reveries, you always felt just a little bit stupid, but they were the only things that got you through most of your days stuck in the rather small house that Draco had moved the two of you into.
Before you knew it, the letter was finished, and you picked it up, allowing the breeze from the open window to dry the ink scrawled onto the parchment.
Narcissa, it read,
Hopefully this finds you well still. Oliver and I spend most of our days in the countryside now, watching the sun simply rise and fall. It's been peaceful, for the most part.
Oliver and I have decided to return to Hogwarts this fall, and we wanted your input on the situation. I would not be returning under the name I currently have, nor would I be returning with my appearance. Since I'm supposed to be dead, it would not be helpful to our situation for me to return as I am.
I'm not sure what name I would use, but Oliver would help alter my appearance with spells, and I would enroll as a transfer from Erehnoll. It wouldn't be too unbelievable, would it?
If need be, we could let Severus in on the idea, as he would be more apt to help the both of us. He would help Oliver blend back in, and he would help me remain hidden under an alias and alternate appearance.
Please write back with your advice at your earliest convenience.
Much love,
Amethyst and Oliver Dovetail
Draco seemed to only skim it when you handed it to him, before rolling it up and sending it out with the owl. You watched the animal fly away until it was just a speck in the distance, and when it was gone, you turned back to the white-haired boy sitting at the dining table.
"I just can't be seen with you at Hogwarts once we actually go back, if we get away with this," Draco said quietly, and your heart dropped. It was going to be a complete repeat of fifth year. "I'll be expected to be grieving your death, and if I'm suddenly seen hanging on and around some random Irish transfer, it's going to look incredibly suspicious."
You sighed, shoving down the aching of your heart. You knew he was right, but if you needed anyone this coming year it was going to be him. You only hoped you could make friends with Juniper and Silver and Marin again—even if it was going to be under a completely new identity.
Draco sighed again, bringing you out of your spiraling thoughts. "We'll get it worked out, love," he said, and your heart involuntarily jumped at the pet name. You rarely, if ever, heard those.
"I know," you responded as he came up and put his arms around you, hugging you close. "I just hate that we have to be even further apart all over again."
Draco nodded. "I do too. I'm not going to stand here and tell you it will be easy. But it will keep you safe, and that's what matters to me."
You looked up at him, and he put his hand on your face, pulling you in for a deep, longing kiss. You felt his other arm snake around your torso, holding you as close as he could while he kissed you. It almost felt like a goodbye kiss, despite the fact that you weren't going to be parting for almost two more months.
The rest of your evening was spent right by Draco's side, not wanting him to leave for anything. You knew eventually you weren't going to be able to be glued to his hip, but for now, you relished in your proximity.
~~~
Narcissa's response to your letter arrived almost two weeks after you sent the letter itself. You had begun to worry that Voldemort had started intercepting the mail again. It had never taken her this long to respond.
So when you saw the faithful barn owl soaring through the air and onto the ledge outside the kitchen window, your heart lifted in relief. You plucked the envelope from Barrow's talons as he sat outside your window, gave the feathered bird his favorite treat, and watched him dance in delight as he ate it and hopped into your house as you turned away from the window, eager to get out of the sun as he awaited his next mission.
You quickly unfolded the papers inside, all too ready to see what Narcissa had to say about your idea.
Dearest Amethyst,
I had the same worries about you returning to school. You need to finish your education, and I know that it would be more difficult to start after the war ends. So even though I think it's foolishly dangerous, and I'm inclined to say Lucius would agree, I think this is probably the best course of action for you to take.
But I cannot stress enough how imperative it is that you stay careful. Keep your details and backstory straight. Do not tell anyone else about it. It not only increases the amount of danger you are in, but it puts them in danger as well. Do not change your appearance back unless you are completely alone, or you are alone with either Oliver or Severus Snape. No one else is to be trusted, whether or not they carry a Dark Mark. Anyone else will immediately turn you into the Dark Lord, and the punishments will be dire. Not only for you, but for Oliver as well.
My final command is one that I know will be difficult for both you and Oliver, but keep your distance from each other. It is for your own safety Regardless of how much I no longer care for you, I am not doing this to be petty. Oliver is going to be meant to be mourning you, as will most of Hogwarts, I'm sure. If he is found to be showing no signs of grief and is hanging around an Irish transfer that nobody else has heard of before, it is not going to keep you undercover for very long.
Please do not hesitate to write me if you have further questions or need further help. Oliver will be Apparating me to you in person here soon, before you are due to return to Hogwarts. At that time we will go over what you will need and magically transform your appearance. I have the utmost confidence in Oliver's current magical skills, but I would rather I cast the spells to disguise you. They are not spells that one can easily teach themselves, and until you are taught them at Hogwarts, it will cause everyone less stress if a practiced witch or wizard (like myself) performs it for you. So I will be brought to you to perform them myself, so he doesn't accidentally end up removing your nose or some such thing.
Please remain hidden, stay safe. Continue to stay inside the house. I know it's difficult for you. But you are safe there, and you will be safer yet in Hogwarts, and it will only be a short time yet before you are back in the castle.
Let Oliver know there will be word on his father's escape from Azkaban here shortly. It shouldn't be more than another fortnight before said news arrives.
Much love,
Narcissa Malfoy
The letter was sealed shut with the signature Malfoy stamp, pressed into wax the color of Slytherin green. You weren't surprised. All of Narcissa's letters had been sealed that way. But you still knew it was a sign. If ever an owl arrived with a letter that did not have that stamp, it meant Voldemort had found out something you didn't want him knowing, and that it was time for you and Draco to go on the run again.
Draco came into the kitchen as you finished reading the letter from his mother, and you showed it to him. "The last time I was there, she said she wants to come out here a week before classes are due to start at Hogwarts," he informed you. "It will give you enough time to get used to your new appearance and fall into the mindset that you are who you are going to have to pretend to be."
You nodded in acknowledgement, wondering what name you would pick and what appearance you would end up having. You knew the circumstances were less than ideal, but the thought of creating a whole new person to hide in plain sight at Hogwarts was rather exciting.
You winced as your Dark Mark began to burn. Voldemort had no way of knowing your arm still burned at his summons, but you knew that this meant Draco had to leave you once again.
He grimaced in his own pain as you knew the Mark burned on his skin as well. He groaned as he turned to you, pulling you in for a feverish kiss. His touches had become more scarce throughout the weeks that you two had spent together, and you had a sinking feeling they were going to become nonexistent by the time the two of you boarded the Hogwarts Express.
"I don't know when I will return," he muttered as he pulled out his wand, readying himself to Apparate back to Malfoy Manor. "Don't wait up for me."
You promised you wouldn't, the same way you did every time the Slytherin boy was called back to his childhood home. You knew it pained him, watching the home he had grown up in become such a place of darkness. But you didn't say anything about it, and neither did he.
"I will see you when I see you, y/n," he said quietly, and you nodded. "I love you," you told him in response, and his eyes softened as he looked at you.
"Be safe," he ordered, though his tone was gentle.
And his wand cracked once more, and he was gone.